Water

Country Water Action: Pakistan
Ladies First: Accessible Water for Entrepreneurial Women in Pakistan

Imagine living in a village in Pakistan and getting water—for drinking, bathing, and washing clothes — from a stagnant rainwater pond, or a muddy irrigation and drainage canal contaminated with pesticides. This is what villagers in rural Punjab faced every day.

But what a difference clean water has made to the lives of the beneficiaries of the Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project, especially the women and children, whose job it was to fetch water each day for the family’s needs.

The project provided safe drinking water and drainage facilities to about 800,000 people through simple, low-cost subprojects that used the community-based approach. The primary beneficiaries were women and children from 335 mostly poor and remote villages in Punjab’s seven priority districts.

So far, monitoring of the project has shown impressive results, including a more than 90% reduction in reported water-related diseases, an average increased household income of 24%, and as much as an 80% increase in the school enrollment of children. The monitoring report also notes a considerable improvement in the local environment (e.g., decreased odors and insects) and fewer sick days reported throughout the community.